Happy 5th Birthday To Me!

I'm 5 years old now! My parents threw a really fun party for me at Chuck E. Cheese's. And from what I've heard, parents don't necessarily enjoy doing this at Chuck E. Cheese's (I heard Mommy asking Daddy to pick her up more migraine medicine before the party). But what's not to love about hundreds of kids in a confined space with lots of loud noises, flashing lights and talking animals? Before we left, they let me open my present from them. My own DVD player!

I played lots of games with my friends.

They brought me some awesome presents. Here's my table.

We had pizza and some delicious cake.

Can you tell that Mama curled my bangs before we left?

Here's my Chuck E. cake.

And my Birthday Star balloon.

We enjoyed all of the food.

Here's Chuck E.!

I'm wearing my birthday crown.

And my birthday medallion.

In front of the blue screen.

I'm about to enter the Ticket Blaster booth. That's why I'm wearing goggles.

This was a blast!

I had a wonderful birthday. But the best part was that my grandparents, Aunt Doe, and lots of my friends were there to celebrate it with us. And in a few months, I'll be turning 6.

Mommy's Reunion With Her Sorority Sister

Mommy told me that sometimes in life you meet unforgettable people. Well, Laura was one of those people. She and Mommy and about 80 other girls lived in the Delta Zeta house and had some wonderful times together. Mommy said that Laura had the best sense of humor of anyone she's ever known. Well, Daddy and I had the chance to meet Laura and her partner Susie. And she does have a great sense of humor! It had been way too long since Mommy had seen Laura. We met them for dinner at one of our favorite places and had a fabulous evening! Daddy took a picture of all the ladies. Laura is in the middle. Now if someone would just hurry up and invent a teleporter, we could do this more often!

Before we picked Laura and Susie up from Hotel Indigo, we spent a few minutes in their very cool lobby. Now we see why Hotel Indigo has won so many awards for being eco-friendly. What a neat place! I'm drumming on a table made of reclaimed wood.

I made Laura and Susie promise to come back to visit soon. Oh, and I also met their dog Truman. I want to see him again too!

Road Trip To See Grandma Dottie & Jim!

The last week of December, we traveled to visit my great grandmother, Dottie, and her boyfriend Jim. We had a fantastic time with them! We ate lots of seafood, had a blast with her animals, visited with friends in Flagler Beach and then spent some time in St. Augustine. Here we are at a delicious seafood restaurant in Flagler Beach.

And here I am at Ripley's Believe It Or Not in St. Augustine, which happens to be the oldest settlement in the United States. We enjoyed "old town" and had a great time. Here I am at Ripley's with a T-Rex. Don't worry. It's not real. Believe it....Or Not.

Daddy is trying out some of the restraints.

Here I am outside Colombia Restaurant in St. Augustine. Mama absolutely loves Cuban food and wanted us to try some too.

I am a bread lover. And now I'm a Cuban bread lover! Colombia makes some of the BEST bread ever. We had all sorts of tasty dishes, and Mama can't imagine a trip to a Cuban restaurant without having some plantains. They were so good!

Daddy enjoyed his meal too!

The atmosphere at Colombia is nice too. What a fun experience!

In addition to her beloved plantains, Mama also had some delicious mango Tilapia. She was so happy!

We also met up with some friends who also have a daughter from China. Our mommies were part of the "July Dragonflies" group, which meant that their paperwork arrived in China at the same time. She, her friend Dusty, and all the Dragonfly mommies helped support each other through the very long wait to meet their babies (that's us!). Here I am with Mary Joyce.

And here's a picture of all of us but Chet (Dusty's husband), who is taking the picture. Dusty's other children are Katherine and Malcom. We had a great time together enjoying some delicious food and our friendship. I hated to leave, because I want to play with Mary Joyce more often.

And then, of course, we had to go back home. Of course, we just happened to be in Florida when they were under a freeze warning. Brrrrr! We had a great time, though, and look forward to visiting again soon.

Visit From Grandparents

This is what my grandparents encountered shortly after arriving. Snow!!!!

I made snow angels.

And had a great time out there playing in it!

And then we gave Doe, Grandma and Pop Pop their presents.

Doe loved her interchangeable sterling silver necklace set.

And Grandma loved her Star of David with a Christian "fish" in the center. Perfect gift for a Grandma who is a Christian with a daughter and granddaughter who are Jewish.

Grandma loves cherry cordial candies. Mama gets her a box every year.

And just like Mama, Pop Pop is terribly addicted to books. So we gave him several!

I really enjoyed their visit. They were afraid they would be stuck with us for a week with no power due to the snow, but the roads cleared quickly and we never lost power. Stay tuned, because our next blog entry will be about our road trip to visit Grandma Dottie in Florida!

Put On Your Yarmulke. It's Time For Hanukkah!

Mommy had everything ready for our first night of Hanukkah when I came home from school. Our menorah, gelt and dreidels are ready to go!

This year, I was able to light the candles myself! And now the first candle is lit.

I did it all by myself!

Mommy reads this book to me each year.

And here's a close-up of the dreidels I'll spin and then the gelt Mommy and Baba will hide for me to find. These are chocolate coins covered in gold foil.

I found all the gelt! Should I eat it all at once?

And look what the Hanukkah Fairy left for me! Eight wrapped presents.

And the first one is....a Fushigi ball! I've been wanting one of those. How did the Hanukkah Fairy know?

Fushigi!

I'm contact juggling!

Baba is teaching me how to spin the dreidels.

And now for night 2. I'm lighting the candles again.

I wonder what this is?

It's a bead kit! I can make necklaces and bracelets!

I love it!

And now for night 3. I'm getting better and better at lighting candles.

I did it!

I wonder what this will be?

A spirograph. Mommy and Daddy both had one of these when they were kids.

Our 4th night was very special. We traveled to Atlanta to celebrate with our friends Davida, Yoni and Ami. Yoni is helping Ami and me to light all our menorahs.

They have a cool oil burning menorah as well as the one with candles.

Ami is my new best friend.

We had such a good time playing together!

I love Davida and Yoni!

I had to sneak a hug from Ami.

Mommy had a great time too and enjoys spending time with Davida.

Yoni has both of his arms full!

And now, night 5.

I get to light more candles each night.

And I was really happy with what the Hanukkah Fairy brought me for tonight!

It's a Connect 4 game!

And now for night 6.

There are enough candles now to take pictures without the lights on.

Present time!

Aqua Sand! Mommy would like to add that she feels the makers of this should be forced to live in a house with sand floors and with sand in their beds. Not sure why she said this, but the stuff does end up everywhere.

I love my Mommy!

And now for night 7. This is our next to the last night.

Pretty!

And what did the Hanukkah Fairy bring me for tonight?

Some black boots! I have so many outfits to wear these with!

And now it's the last night of Hanukkah. I'm a little bit sad. I have enjoyed Hanukkah so much this year!

What a beautiful glow from a menorah full of candles.

I'm very excited about opening my last present.

It's a Mind-Blowing Science Kit!

One other highlight of this year's celebration was a song called, "Candlelight" by the Maccabeats. Baba videotaped me dancing to their YouTube video and then posted my video on YouTube! It tells the story behind Hanukkah and what these 8 nights truly mean to Jewish people. Enjoy! Chag Hanukkah sameach!